Wire-fence stretcher.



S. S. ROBERTS.

WIRE FENCE STRETCHER.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 5,1914.

1 9 1&%W6% Patented June 22, 1915.

3 SHEETS-SHEET l.

THE NORRIS PETERS 60., PHOTO-LITHO.. WASHINGTON, D. C.

S. S. ROBERTS.

WIRE FENCE STRETCHER.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 5, IBM.

Patented June 22, 1915.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

AS. Roger-2,9,

TH E NORRIS PETERS 00.. PHOTO LITHO, WASHINGTON, D. C.

S. S. ROBERTS.

WIRE FENCE STRETCHER.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 5.1914.

1 M%,6 L Patented June 22, 1915.

3 SHEETSSHEET 3.

'IHE NORRIS PETERS (20., PHOTC-LITHO. WASHINGTON, D. C.

STEPHEN S. ROBERTS, OF MEXICO, MISSOURI.

WIRE-FENCE STRETCHER.

menace.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 22, 1915.

Application filed June 5, 1914. Serial No. 843,164.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, STEPHEN S. ROBERTS, a citizen of the United States, residing at Mexico, in the county of Audrain and State of Missouri, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in VVire-Fence Stretchers; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to wire fence stretchers, and one of the principal objects of the same is to provide a wire fence stretcher, which will uniformly stretch all the longitudinal or line wires of the fence simultaneously, and which can be quickly adjusted for stretching any portion of the wire from the top line wires to the bottom line wires.

Another object of the invention is to provide a wire fence stretcher which can be quickly connected to an anchor post and in which the fence clamp can be quickly connected to the fence and in which the device when operated will uniformly stretch all the line wires of the fence simultaneously and uniformly and which can be adjusted quickly to stretch any portion of the fence.

These and other objects may be attained by means of the construction illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which,

Figure 1 is a front elevation of a wire fence stretcher made in accordance with this invention, Fig. 2 is a rear elevation of the same, Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view taken on the line 3 3 of Fig. 1 and made on a somewhat larger scale, Fig. 4 is a top plan view of the wire fence stretcher, Fig. 5 is a sectional view of the fence clamp, Fig. 6 is a detail sectional view of a guide for one of the anchor hooks, Fig. 7 is a detail perspective view of the main shaft, Fig.8 is a detail view of the anchor chain fastening means and guide, and Fig. ,9 is a sectional view taken on the line 99 of Fig. 8.

Referring to the drawings, the numeral 1 designates one member of a casing or frame for supporting the operative members of the stretcher and 2 is the other member of the frame or casing. A shaft provided with a squared portion 3 and rounded portions 4 and 5 is mounted in the members 1 and 2 and a projecting squared portion 6 to receive the operating lever 7 The members 1 and 2 are connected by means of a bolt 8 at their lower ends and by means of a bolt 9 at their upper ends. The member 1 is extended upward and provided with a handle 10, and a single wire clamp 11 is pivoted upon a pin 12 at the side of the shank of the member 1. A plate 13 is provided with an outwardly bent portion 14 which forms an abutment or support of the wire to be clamped by the roughened portion of the head of the lever 11.

Mounted between the members 1 and 2 is a sprocket wheel 15 and a ratchet wheel 16, said wheels being mounted upon the central squared portion 3 of the main shaft. A pawl 17 is pivoted at 18 to the member 1 and said pawl is provided with oppositely disposed fingers 19 adapted to engage the ratchet wheel 16 when thrown upon either side of the pivotal point 18.

An anchor bar 20 is mounted in keepers 21 formed on the member 2, said anchor plate or bar having a chain 22 connected by means of a rivet 23 thereto, said chain extending through oppositely disposed guide lugs 24. The anchor chain 22 extends around the post 25 and is connected at its opposite end to a hook 26 provided with a turnbuckle 27 connected by means of a link to a staple 28 connected to the anchor bar 20. A brace 29 having an angular arm provided with a prong 30 to engage the post 25 is rigidly connected at the opposite end to the anchor bar 20. An anchor hook 31 provided with a prong 32 to engage the post 25 is pivotally engaged at its opposite end to a rod 33, said rod extending through a sliding member 34 through which the anchor bar 20 slides. An adjusting nut 35 is mounted on the rod 33 for adjusting the anchor hook 31. Hooks 36 and 37 are pivotally connected to a bracket 38 and the ends of the hooks are sharpened and adapted to be driven into the post 25. The stretcher chain 39 is in the form of a sprocket chain and passes over the sprocket wheel 15, while the opposite end is connected to a chain 40, said chain having a slot hook 41 connected thereto which is adapted to engage any one of the links 42 of a chain connected to a clevis 43. This clevis is mounted to slide upon the fence clamp by means of hooked arms 44 which extend around the base members 45 of the clamp. Secured to one side of the base members 45 is a metal plate 46 and extending through said plate into the member 45 1S a series of eye bolts 47. A clamp rod 48 extends through the eye bolts 47 and clamps the wire fence 49 between the rod and the base 45. The rod 48 is provided with an eye 50 at its upper end.

A supporting hook 51 is connected to the anchor bar 20 for supporting the anchor chain.

The operation of the fence stretcher may be briefly described as follows: When the stretcher has been firmly connected to the post 25, as shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings and the chain is connected to the chain 42-, every movement of the lever 7 will draw the fence uniformly toward the post. If a single wire is to be stretched it is engaged by means. of the lever 11. The clevis 4:3 is adjustable vertical on the clamp and hence any portion of the fence may be stretched. It will also be noted that since the pawl 17 can be thrown to either side of the center of the sprocket of the ratchet wheel 16, the stretcher may be utilized for stretching a fence upon either side of the post 25.

Various changes may be made in the details of construction without departing from the. spirt and scope of the invention as defined in the claims. I

{Vhat is claimed is:

1. In a wire fence stretcher, the combination, with a casing and stretching mechanism carried by the casing, of means for securing the stretching mechanism to a post, comprising an anchor bar, keepers on the casing in which said anchor bar is mounted, a brace connected to said anchor bar and provided with an angular arm having a prong thereon, a chain connected to the anchor bar, a hook adjustably connected to said chain, said hook having a threaded shank, and a turn-buckle swiveled to the anchor bar and adjustable on the threaded shank of the hook.

2. In a wire fence stretcher, the combination, with a casing and stretching mechanism carried by the casing, of means for securing the stretching mechanism to a post, comprising an anchor bar, keepers in which said anchor bar is mounted, a chain connected to said anchor bar, a hook adjustably connected to said chain, a turn-buckle swiveled to the anchor bar, for adjusting said hook, a bracket connected to said casing, and hooks connected to the opposite sides of said bracket for engaging a fence post.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

STEPHEN S. ROBERTS.

Witnesses:

E. J. HUnsT, E. A. SHANNON.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents. Washington, D. G. 

